Woman Arrested in Deaths of 2 Schoolgirls

A woman who police say killed two children last year when her car jumped a curb outside an Anaheim school was arraigned on misdemeanor charges Monday, having returned from spending months in Mexico.

Maria Juarez, 50, was arrested Sunday after Anaheim police received calls from neighbors saying she was home.

Juarez faces two charges of vehicular manslaughter; if convicted, she could receive a maximum of two years in jail.

Juarez told police at the time of the March 12, 2002, accident that she struck the two girls after picking up her grandchildren at Centralia Elementary School. She told police that she mistakenly hit the gas pedal instead of the brake. Second-grader Bianca Jasmine Perez, 7, of Buena Park and first-grader Nidia “Liz” Curiel, 6, of Anaheim were killed.

Anaheim Police Lt. Craig Hunter said police knew Juarez was in Mexico, where she has relatives, although there is no formal charge of flight.

“We feel like today was a little bit of justice,” said Armando Curiel, the father of Nidia, said of Juarez’s time in Mexico.

The Orange County district attorney announced in April that officials would not pursue felony charges against Juarez because she was not grossly negligent.

Factors that would have prompted more serious charges are speeding or driving under the influence; there was no evidence of either, officials said.

The Anaheim city attorney, however, brought misdemeanor charges against Juarez in October. Assistant City Atty. Pat Ahle said Juarez faces a pretrial hearing Friday and a jury trial March 3.